Compliance News
With telemarketing laws continually changing, we want to make sure our clients are up to speed on the restrictions that can affect their business. The purpose of the compliance news section is to keep our clients informed and share the same insight that has allowed us to successfully manage regulatory compliance for 25 years. Continue reading to learn about the most current regulatory changes.
FEDERAL:
US Senate
The FTC’s authority to collect fees from marketers who access the Federal Do Not Call Registry is set to expire at the end of 2007. However, Senate Bill 781, introduced on March 6, 2007 by Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR) would allow the FTC to collect registry access fees indefinitely.
FCC
The FCC has released its quarterly report regarding top subject areas for inquiries and complaints received by the commission during the third quarter of 2006. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) category contained complaints regarding artificial prerecorded messages, failure to honor the national do-not-call list, unsolicited faxes and curfew violations. Expect the FCC to continue to be active with regard to enforcement of the TCPA regulations.
FTC
The FTC has settled a case involving do-not-call violations by a mortgage company. The settlement included a penalty of more than $400,000 and a permanent injunction against further violations.
A Florida-based telemarketer has agreed to pay a $1 million penalty after the FTC charged the company with making tens of millions of illegal automated telemarketing calls. The telemarketer's automated dialer called and then illegally hung up on more than 64 million people. In addition, the firm was charged with calling and hanging up on one million phone numbers on the Federal Do Not Call Registry and failure to pay for access to the Registry in numerous instances.
STATE:
Connecticut
A proposed bill in the Connecticut House of Representatives (HB 5374) would bar prerecorded messages without express consent.
Florida
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) fined a Florida environmental group for swaying voters towards Democratic candidates in the 2004 election. The expected effect is to make other politically active nonprofit groups nervous. The organization agreed to pay the FEC a fine of $28,000.
A proposed bill in the Florida House of Representatives (HB 33) would bars calls by political candidates to persons on Florida’s do-not-call list. The law would apply both to prerecorded and live political calls.
Georgia
A proposed bill in the Georgia House of Representatives (HB 22) would change the state’s law regarding prerecorded messages to allow calls by a nonprofit organization unless the recipient has specifically objected to such calls by making a do-not-call request. The bill would also add solicitation of votes using prerecorded messages to the types of calls banned under state law.
Missouri
A proposed bill in the Missouri Senate (SB 49) would bar automated political calls entirely, except with prior express invitation, with permission or if introduced by a live operator. Willing violations of the ban would be subject to a civil penalty of up to $5,000 for each violation. Individuals who receive more than one automated political solicitation within any 12 month period would be able to sue and receive up to $5,000 for each violation.
A proposed bill in the Missouri Senate (SB 251) would add political calls to those regulated by the state do-not-call lists and bar automated political calls made without express consent. The bill would also impose a curfew on such calls outside the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
The Missouri attorney general announced a consent agreement with a Missouri fundraiser whose organization solicited donations over the telephone and misrepresented that the caller was a police officer. The fundraiser was required to pay more than $50,000 in restitution, make a contribution of $5,000 to a local children’s hospital and pay the attorney general’s office $15,000 in costs. The fundraiser is also banned from ever raising money in the state again.
North Carolina
North Carolina’s attorney general has proposed banning prerecorded messages from political candidates from being made to persons on the national do-not-call list. These calls are political speech, but a federal court in Indiana upheld Indiana’s ban on such calls, so the North Carolina legislature could likely accomplish this goal if legislation is carefully crafted.
Rhode Island
A proposed bill in the Rhode Island Senate (SB 21) would regulate political solicitations by telephone by creating a state no-political-call list and require disclosures within the first 30 seconds of political telephone calls. The bill would also impose a 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. curfew.
Texas
A proposed bill in the Texas House of Representatives (HB 515) would include prerecorded political calls in the state’s do-not-call law. The bill would take effect September 1, 2007.
Back to Issue 1 / May 2007